DANGEROUS EPS OUTAGE!

[chri5k]

Thanks wild one, but wouldn't that twist U joint or strip the whole steering column? I just finished checking what I can and the result is not promising. It is definately not the belt and every mechanical parts look like new inside. However, the EPS module is open circuit. It is dead. There is no way to open this thing. I do not have penta security bit. Any ideas? or Have I missed something? Very frustrated and I like to check everything before I take it to dealer since I know what they gonna say after charging me diag $200 plus $150 towing.

Order the right bit from Amazon so you can open her up and have a look see. If there is corrosion on the PCB, it’s a gonner’. A cold solder joint / broken wire is fixable. A few folks have fixed the EPS that way. I assume you have checked the main power connectors leading to the rack for corrosion.

Hopefully it is fixable. If not, I think racks are in short supply so it might be a while before the dealer can get one.

 

[Tominator223]

See who gets this. Remember the power ball on the Steering wheel. I don’t like eps. At least a manual rack works. And you get your upper body workout. Lol.

 

[TC Retired]

Yep back in the day Farm & Military Trucks were a blast for a less than 150 # weakling...

Hence the old song -- give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around...

 

[NETim]

I see rebuilt EPS units on eBay for about $2K.

 

[Jeepwalker]

OP, did you remove the control module cover on the backside of the EPS unit (6 screws)? There have been a few guys who have had the wire come off at the board inside. Or it became heavily corroded. The whole entire board is covered in a Conform-it plastic which protects it from moisture, EXCEPT the area where the main terminals connect, which appear to be hand soldered. And eventually under the right circumstances, that area by the main boar terminals (not sprayed with the protective plastic) ...the pins can corrode right there where flux (sometimes corrosive) is used.

 

[Wild one]

Yep back in the day Farm & Military Trucks were a blast for a less than 150 # weakling...

Hence the old song -- give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around...

We had a 1951 Ford 3 ton grain truck on the farm as one of the back-up grain trucks in harvest.In a soft field with 300 bushels on board,it was a bear to turn around for a 12 year old,lol

 

[Regcabguy]

Not the belt, bummer ! Inside of belt and gear assembly look like new. That makes me even more angry after taking care of this damn car so clean!

There's a company in the US which does frame up restorations of the '73-1989 Fords and GM's. They do upgrade the brakes, ignition and add a/c. I can't find that site. Nice tease eh? I'll post if I ever find that again I'll post.. Vehicles are way to cluttered with features and gadgets nowadays.

 

[Regcabguy]

See who gets this. Remember the power ball on the Steering wheel. I don’t like eps. At least a manual rack works. And you get your upper body workout. Lol.

Not enough road feel with eps.

 

[v737d]

Agree with all the post about driving in the 70s, let's not forget trucks were half as heavy and the tires were half as wide. Easier to muck around with PS out. Always felt the loss of power brakes after the engine quit was worse than the loss of power steering. Today? I wrench my back muscles getting out bed

 

[Wild one]

Agree with all the post about driving in the 70s, let's not forget trucks were half as heavy and the tires were half as wide. Easier to muck around with PS out. Always felt the loss of power brakes after the engine quit was worse than the loss of power steering. Today? I wrench my back muscles getting out bed

I wouldn't say the 70's trucks were any lighter then todays trucks,my Dads old 75 Ford F150 regular cab long box truck weighed 5200lbs ,my little regular cab shortbox 77 F100 weighed 4600 lbs.They were on narrower tires though

 

[hunterdan]

With these racks, when the power steering goes out, it's much harder to turn than an old truck or tractor without power steering. Have to remember, they were built without power steering so the gearing was much better and bigger steering wheels. I've driven lots of old farm equipment and none of it compared to how hard my truck was to turn when it lost power steering. I've lost a few belts on other trucks and had nowhere near the trouble either. The electric motors in these do a tone of assisting, or when the modules go bad, they try to fight your inputs making it even harder to turn.

 

[Hardracer]

Manual steering / manual drum brakes and 3 on the tree / no A/C, and vinyl seats that'd cook you to death in the summer,and shrivel your nuts into your stomach in the winter, the good ole days,not so sure i miss them though

I'd take those days over todays anytime Wild one.
During summer time when school was out...my mom would tell us in the morning "get out,go play,don't come back til dark"so you disappeared and if you weren't around when she hollered out the door "dinner!"...your gonna a get a butt whoopin when you do finally show up...my middle school years were an exact match from the movie Sandlot,wife hates it when it's on because she knows that channel isn't changing...seen it a thousand times.
Of course technology advancements are great but at the same time the world has become a bunch of sissies. Hide or forget a phone and watch how that plays out.
Wreck your bike on some cinder blocks and a piece of wood you found for a ramp...get back up and watch the next kid try,arm,leg skinned up and bleeding...
Today,you'd be lucky to see a kid outside on a bike...,You gotta pedal this thing?Where's the electric motor?...dam
Today's youth are lost...
You had to turn a knob for the radio in the car?Whats an 8 track?A cassette?Hell,a record?
That's my rant for the day.

 

[EdGs]

^^^^^^ Damn, you're old! J/K

A while back, I saw a group of about 10-12 kids waiting on their school bus.

EVERY single one had their head buried in their cell phone. Definately lost.

 

[Hardracer]

Definitely not as old as alot here and they are way more wiser than I.im just a youngin to them....lol
Age is what is and can't change that.
This was early mid-seventies for me...

 

[TC Retired]

Yep, that was a great time (sixties and Seventies) to grow up. We could do about anything we wanted to do -- as long as we didn't hurt anyone to bad...

I feel for kids these days, they can't experiment like we did. So many eyes watching for any kind of mistakes. Mainly that the rules have taken the fun out of life. No wonder they just stick their noses into their phones...

 

[jawzs2]

my middle school years were an exact match from the movie Sandlot

LOL - same here - I still remember my dad getting all worked up because he could never find his roll of black tape. We kept using it to wrap the baseball after we wore the leather off it.

 

[Hardracer]

Wait!.....you guys had tape?.....lol

 

[Yardbird]

Wait!.....you guys had tape?.....lol

I wish we had bats......

 

[jawzs2]

Remember how great it felt on your hands when you made good contact after you cracked a bat, drove a nail thru it, and used the same black tape to hold it together. I can still feel the tingle.

And apologies to the OP for derailing his thread...

 

[GTyankee]

If anyone ever worked for a construction company that worked on roads ..
you learned to never turn a vehicles tires while standing still, especially on a Hot Day.
If you did, you could easily tear up the road or parking area.

If your tires are moving, the steering turns much easier